Who Is Ari Porth? And Why?*

-- How do we get all these shameless, grandstanding state reps? Adam Hasner, Nan Rich, it just gets so tiresome. Now listen to this from Rep. Ari Porth, a Democrat from Coral Springs:

"I'm ashamed that my county has the unenviable distinction of being the pill-mill capital of the United States. We have the chance to stop the explosive growth of these clinics, to stop these clinics from festering, to send these sleazy, bottom-feeding operators of these death centers back to Kentucky where they belong."

What the hell kind of politician is this? Yeah, sure, Ari, it's the sophisticated drug pushers from Kentucky that are causing our problems. Has this guy ever been to Kentucky and does he understand that he's degrading fellow Americans? Look, I grew up in the Louisville area and know the state has its problems, but Porth here shows astounding ignorance and prejudice. How do we keep finding these winners to represent us in Tallahassee?

-- I actually caught that quote, by the way, on JAABlog, along with this on the Loureiro case. A hearing is set for May 26 in Palm Beach County to determine if the death row inmate deserves a new trial due to alleged misconduct by Judge Ana Gardiner and former prosecutor Howard Scheinberg (read this for the background details). Now rumors are swirling that State Attorney Michael Satz is going to concede that a new trial is necessary and avoid the potentially embarrassing hearing. Ah, the truth and Broward County never did mix well, did they?

-- This just in from a Pulp comment below: Miami Herald Senior Editor/Administration (basically Gyllenhaal's No. 2) David Wilson is taking over business news. And Brenda Krebs steps up to become editor of Business Monday.

*Thanks to John de Groot for the headline idea, which I shamelessly stole from him.

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